Kathmandu, November 15

As part of the Government of India’s post-earthquake reconstruction efforts in Nepal, United Nations Development Programme has organised an exposure visit to India for 16 people’s representatives of local levels from Gorkha district.

UNDP’s partner, Owner Driven Reconstruction Collaborative of India is coordinating their visits (November 12-16) to Gujarat and Delhi to learn from Bhuj Earthquake Reconstruction Experience, said a press release issued by the Embassy of India in Nepal.

Mayors and deputy mayors of two municipalities, and ward chairs and vice-chairs of six rural municipalities are in the visiting team.

“During their visit to India, the delegation will interact with the elected representatives of Bhuj and Gujarat Government executives and observe practices of owner-driven reconstruction adopted after the Bhuj earthquake. In Delhi, the delegation will interact with National Disaster Management Authority of India to get a comprehensive overview of India’s disaster preparedness, recovery set up and experiences,” it said.

The Government of India has been collaborating with the Government of Nepal on post-earthquake reconstruction of 26,912 houses in Gorkha district. To complement the Government of Nepal’s owner-driven reconstruction approach, UNDP is providing socio-technical support to people to rebuild earthquake-resilient houses.

According to the release, the visit will provide an opportunity to enhance key local stakeholders’ capacity to ensure earthquake resilient reconstruction by raising community awareness about disaster management, recovery and resilience.